Fort Worth & Rio Grande Railway Co. v. Reese

68 S.W. 1019, 29 Tex. Civ. App. 400, 1902 Tex. App. LEXIS 328
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMay 28, 1902
StatusPublished

This text of 68 S.W. 1019 (Fort Worth & Rio Grande Railway Co. v. Reese) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fort Worth & Rio Grande Railway Co. v. Reese, 68 S.W. 1019, 29 Tex. Civ. App. 400, 1902 Tex. App. LEXIS 328 (Tex. Ct. App. 1902).

Opinion

KEY, Associate Justice.

This case was submitted in this court on the following conclusions of fact:

“1. The plaintiffs made a contract with the Fort Worth & Bio Grande Bailway Company in writing, covering the shipment of the carload of horses in this suit from Brownwood to Fort Worth, Texas, destined to Longview, Texas; under the terms of the written contract the Fort Worth & Bio Grande Boad agreed to haul the car of horses from Brown-wood to Fort Worth, and deliver them to connecting line leading to destination, and specially limited its liability for any damage or injury to its own line.

*401 “2. That the Fort Worth & Rio Grande Railway did haul said car of horses from Brownwood to Fort Worth, and delivered them to the Texas & Pacific Railroad, which line of road connects with the Fort Worth & Bio Grande Railway, and runs from Fort Worth to Longview, Texas.

“3. That after delivery of said horses to the Texas & Pacific Railway by the Fort Worth & Rio Grande Railway, one of the plaintiffs, J. H. Reese, being in charge thereof, called «upon the local freight agent of the Texas & Pacific Railway in Fort Worth, and requested that the Texas & Pacific Railway forward the car of horses from Fort Worth to destination, Longview, and the agent of the Texas & Pacific agreed to do so.

“4. That the Fort Worth & Rio Grande Railway Company made delivery to the employes of the Texas & Pacific Company of the carload of horses on its arrival in Fort Worth.

“5. That during the transportation of the shipment on the line of the Fort Worth & Rio Grande Railway, by the broken and defective condition of the car in which the horses were carried, five head were injured substantially as alleged in plaintiff’s first amended original petition, while on the line of the Fort Worth & Rio Grande Railway, and by reason of the condition in which said car arrived in Fort Worth, it was necessary for the horses to be unloaded out of it and reloaded in another car.

“5%. That the plaintiff Reese, in charge of the stock, after its arrival in Fort Worth, requested the local agent of the Texas & Pacific Railway to have the horses unloaded out of the defective car and reloaded in a good car and forwarded to Longview, Texas.

-“6. That the Texas & Pacific Railway Company took charge of the car of horses in Fort Worth, and switched it to the Texas & Pacific stockyards, and unloaded the horses therefrom.

“7. That after the local agent, or some employe of the Texas & Pacific Road had unloaded said horses, said Texas & Pacific Railway refused to reload and forward the horses immediately, unless plaintiff in charge thereof would leave out two or more head of the horses, claiming that the car was overloaded, which demand by the employes of the Texas & Pacific Railway the plaintiff in charge thereof, J. H. Reese, declined to comply with, and demanded that all the stock be reloaded in the same size car in which they arrived, and forwarded to destination, Longview. That the employes of the Texas & Pacific Company refused to ship said horses for a period of twenty-four hours after they were unloaded in its pens at Fort Worth, and until ordered by the officers of the Texas & Pacific General Office in Dallas to forward said stock in one car.

“8. That the car in which said horses arrived at Fort Worth and the car in which they left Fort Worth were sufficiently large to properly accommodate the stock, and that the stock were not overloaded in either car.

“9. That after said car of horses arrived in Fort Worth and was de *402 livered by the Fort Worth & Rio Grande road to the Texas & Pacific Railway Company, the employes of the Texas & Pacific Railway Company never communicated with the Fort Worth & Rio Grande Railway Company about what should be done with said horses, or whether they should be reloaded in one car, or when they should be reloaded, or when forwarded, but that the said Texas & Pacific Railway Company’s employes in Fort Worth took up the question of whether the horses should be reloaded in the same size car, jvith the general office of the Texas & Pacific Railway in Dallas.

"11. That so far as the facts disclosed, the only reason why the plaintiff’s horses were held in the Texas & Pacific stock yard at Fort Worth, after the time required to unload them out of the broken car and reload them in a good car, was caused by the demand of the Texas & Pacific Railway Company on the plaintiff, that he dispose of or leave out two or more of his horses, under the claim that there were too many head to be loaded in one car, and his refusal to comply with said demand.

“12. That after the horses were reloaded by the Texas & Pacific Railway in Fort Worth and started to Longview, they reached there in a reasonable time, and without accident of any kind or character occurring.

“13. That at the time of the shipment in question, the Texas & Pacific Railway and the Fort Worth & Rio Grande Railway were obligated to each other under the following written contract:

" ‘This contract and agreement made and entered into this the 1st day of May, 1900, between the Texas & Pacific Railway Company, a railway corporation, hereinafter called the “Texas Company,” and the Fort Worth & Rio Grande Railway Company, a railway corporation, hereinafter styled the “Rio Grande Company,” witnesseth:

“ ‘That for and in consideration of the covenants, conditions, and payments hereinafter mentioned, to be made, kept, and performed by the Rio Grade Company, the Texas Company agrees to furnish the said Rio Grande Company certain facilities in the city of Fort Worth, to wit: For and in consideration of the sum of one hundred dollars ($100) per month, payable on the first day of each and every month in advance, the Texas Company agrees to furnish the depot facilities necessary for doing the freight business of the Rio Grande Company in Fort Worth, Texas, and for and in consideration of the additional sum of three hundred dollars ($300) per month, payable on the first day of each and every month in advance, the Texas Company agrees to do all the switching and furnish all the labor necessary for handling the freight business of the Rio Grande Company in the city of Fort Worth, Texas.

“ ‘It is further expressly agreed and understood that the Rio Grande Company shall be solely responsible for any and all loss, damage or injury to its own separate property while being handled by the Texas Company, and shall be solely and alone responsible for any and all loss, damage, or injury that may happen to any freight, traffic, or employe *403 growing out of the handling of its business by the Texas Company under this contract, including its own telegraph business, loss or damage to freight or other property at said station or in cars, and the said loss or damage shall be borne and paid by the said Bio Grande Company individually, as though the business was being handled by their own separate employes, the employes of the Texas Company being treated as the employes of the Eio Grande Company while handling the business of said company.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
68 S.W. 1019, 29 Tex. Civ. App. 400, 1902 Tex. App. LEXIS 328, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fort-worth-rio-grande-railway-co-v-reese-texapp-1902.